How to find fan fun in N.Y.C. during Super Bowl XLVIII

If your team is playing in the Super Bowl Sunday, you could go party with the crowds in New York — even if you can't afford an ultra-high-priced seat for the game.

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By Kristin Jackson

southcoasttoday.com

By Kristin Jackson

Posted Jan. 30, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Kristin Jackson
Posted Jan. 30, 2014 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

If your team is playing in the Super Bowl Sunday, you could go party with the crowds in New York — even if you can't afford an ultra-high-priced seat for the game.

Although the Super Bowl will be played in nearby New Jersey, most of the fan fun and classic attractions are in the Big Apple. Here's a rundown, plus tips on hotels:

Super Bowl Boulevard: This mostly free 14-block NFL playland stretches along Broadway in the heart of Manhattan, offering concerts, video celebrations of football, NFL players' autograph sessions, interactive video games and even a toboggan hill for urban sledding ($5). And, of course, there will be lots of football-themed shopping. Open through Saturday. nfl.com/superbowl/48/events/boulevard.

The Boulevard is the big, official fan event. Jersey towns, including East Rutherford, where the MetLife Stadium hosts the game, are holding smaller events.

More Super Bowl fun: For official events, see the NFL's nynjsuperbowl.com. New York's tourism office has listings at nycgo.com/superbowl.

If you're looking for a sports bar to watch the game, Yelp has manyreviews at yelp.com/c/nyc/sportsbars.

See the sights: Tear yourself away from football to enjoy some classic New York attractions.

Take a walk on the High Line, the elevated-railway line turned into a park, to counteract Super Bowl excess food and beer. Get high on views from the top of the Empire State Building or Rockefeller Center.

Take a Circle Line tour boat to see everything from the Manhattan skyline to the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge.

At the National September 11 Memorial, remember those who perished.

Get world-class looks at culture and nature at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art or the American Museum of Natural History.

Lunar New Year parade: Enjoy the annual Chinese New Year parade and street fair in Lower Manhattan on Sunday (yes, game day). betterchinatown.com

Go run: Get off the couch on Super Bowl morning and join a 4-mile race — and football-throw competition — with the New York Road Runners: bit.ly/1ixknNb

For every Super Bowl, the prices of hotels soar.

Rates at even basic Manhattan hotels start around $450 a night for Super Bowl weekend.

Comparison shop at Bookingbuddy.com or Kayak.com to see prices from many travel websites. If you find a place you like, phone the hotel directly to confirm and book; if you're booking shortly before the Super Bowl you could try to wrangle a lower price; hotels might discount rather than have rooms go empty.

Check hotel alternatives such as Airbnb.com (spare-room rentals), hostels and B&Bs. Bedandbreakfast.com had Manhattan rooms for around $300 a night on Super Bowl weekend. Or in trendy Brooklyn, B&Bs were under $200 a night.

If you're comfortable with truly last-minute booking, the Hotel Tonight app can yield good deals. Or check out the new Roomertravel.com, where people sell hotel reservations they can't use, including for the Super Bowl.